The book review of Richard Dawkins book The God Delusion by Simon Curtis in your December 2006 issue was most disappointing.1 With such a controversial book which has such major flaws in it's arguments it is a pity that the BJGP, which I am sure has a readership that includes many people from a variety of faiths, did not balance this review with an alternative, more informed, viewpoint. Simon Curtis has clearly been swept along by Mr Dawkins populist atheism without stopping to ask important critical questions.
Alister McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University and a former atheist himself, has written extensively on atheism, particularly the ideas of Richard Dawkins. He describes ‘The God Delusion’ as ‘perhaps his [Dawkins'] weakest book to date, marred by its excessive reliance on bold assertion and rhetorical flourish, where the issues so clearly demand careful reflection and painstaking analysis, based on the best evidence available. Attractive precisely because it is simplistic, Dawkins demands the eradication of religion’.2
This simplistic opinion of Dawkins, that the elimination of religion would be a solution to the world's ills, is an unhelpful stance for the BJGP to support without balance. McGrath goes on: ‘The question of the future role of religion is far too important to leave to the fanatics, or to atheist fundamentalists. There is a real need to deal with the ultimate causes of social division and exclusion. Religion's in there, along with a myriad of other factors … But it also has the capacity to transform, creating a deep sense of personal identity and value, and bringing social cohesion. Let's skip the rhetoric, and cut to the reality. It's much less simple — but it might actually help us address the real social issue that we face in modern Britain’.2
There are a great many well-read and clear-thinking doctors and scientists who do not accept the views of Richard Dawkins. Many would say that, given the evidence, to be an atheist requires a greater leap of faith than to be a believer. Their views cannot be simply dismissed when the ills of society are at stake.
I therefore recommend that you balance your published review with a further comment from someone who has really grappled with the issues. I would also suggest that you review Alister McGrath's book The Dawkins Delusion when it is published in February 2007.
- © British Journal of General Practice, 2007.
